Not Easy
by Pink Mockingjay in Hufflepuff
Summary: Nothing was supposed to come out of it. Love wasn't something they were familiar with. It was hard to get used to their feelings for each other, but now they were together and relatively happy and that's all that mattered. It just wasn't going to be easy to keep life that way.
1. Chapter 1

**_Another new story? What am I doing? I have no idea, but enjoy some Malvie angst! It'll get angstier._**

* * *

Their first kiss was two months after their adventure to get Maleficent's scepter. It was a heat of the moment sort of kiss, done out of spite and anger.

Evie still wasn't having an easy time at school even though it was clear she had befriended both Mal and Jay.

She had been cornered on numerable occasions by disgusting boys who took her innate flirtiness and obvious beauty as an invitation to try to convince her to sleep with them. A few had even tried to kiss her. These encounters always left her shaken up and her friend's furious.

Somehow, rumors began even though Jay threatened to make Evie's harassers wish they were never born. Evie was being called every bad name imaginable and hardly anyone had the tact to even do it behind her back. The only time people shut up and left Evie alone was when Mal was with her.

Due to this, Evie had become almost clingy. It wasn't intentional, it was only because she felt safer.

At least, that's what it started out as.

Whenever Mal knew Evie was feeling particularly anxious, she would reach over and take her hand. She didn't even think about it. It wasn't a big deal, not to them. It made Evie feel more comfortable. It happened so often that at some point, it just became second nature.

Evie and Mal were spending more and more time together even without the boys being present. Jay and Carlos seemed to know something was up before they did. Hey weren't just becoming better friends, it was clearly a lot more than that.

Evie was significantly more comfortable, but rumors and names were still hurled in her direction. And Mal was fed up.

One day after school when Evie, Mal, Carlos, and Jay were walking out together, someone said something particularly foul in Evie's direction.

Jay, fuming, was just about to go after the kid when the unexpected happened.

Mal kissed Evie.

Everyone that saw was shocked into utter silence.

Unlike what Mal had been expecting, Evie smiled. It was a shocked and kind of shy smile, but a smile none the less.

"About damn time," Jay had muttered.

Mal had done it just to shut everyone up once and for all. She hadn't really been expecting that Evie would actually like it. But she had. And it was like everything suddenly changed.

The next day, no one said a less than friendly word to Evie. No one dared. They knew they could expect the wrath of Mal if they did.

It didn't take long for word to reach the ears of the Evil Queen and Maleficent that their daughters had kissed. They had already been angry enough about them befriending each other. That news only pushed them over the edge.

Maleficent was furious and called Mal a disappointment and a failure, things she was used to, but not so severely. Mal had told her mother she didn't care what she thought and that she was done doing her bidding.

Evie's mother was bitter about her daughter's lack of taste and failure to find a prince. Evie had no defense for herself. She didn't have to. She only defended Mal.

The Evil Queen all but disowned Evie and Mal was forced out of her house and still had a scar on her arm because of it.

There was an old abandoned house that Jay had found and the four of them had made into a hideout of sorts. The conditions were low, even by Isle standards, but that's the only place the two of them could go.

Evie had cried that first night, but admitted in the morning that it might be nice not to have to live up to her mother's standards for once. Mal agreed. They were free in that little run down house.

And that's where they stayed.

The boys helped them fix it up until it was livable. Jay stole things, with help from Mal. Carlos and Evie fixed anything that was broken. Evie made curtains to keep drafts out, Mal painted the walls.

Jay and Carlos practically lived there for as much time as they spent with their friends, but that house belonged to Mal and Evie.

For a long while, both feared that one day, their mothers would come and destroy what happiness they had together, but that day never came.

For whatever reason, they were left alone and allowed to remain together.

Figuring out where to go from there was the hard part. Nothing on the Isle was ever going to be easy.

* * *

 _ **A/N: You can blame my friend Amber for this. I love her, but she sucked me into shipping Malvie. I hope you like it so far! Let me know what you think!**_

 ** _Also be prepared for lots of angst._**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Here I am, back at you with more of these dorks. This story will get super angsty soon and will probably get longer chapters, but I felt the set up could be shorter and more light hearted.**_

 ** _Thank you guys for your sweet words. They're very appreciated._**

 ** _This chapter takes place probably 2 years after the last and each part is a totally different day, I just wanted to show you guys some cuteness._**

 ** _Enjoy!_**

* * *

Mal plopped down on the couch beside Evie and leaned her head in her shoulder. She sighed.

Evie barely flinched. She looked up from her sewing. "Well that was a bit dramatic, don't you think?"

"No,"

Evie rolled her eyes. Sometimes Mal was like a stubborn toddler.

"Don't you roll your eyes at me."

Sometimes it was scary how well Mal knew her. "Then tell me what's wrong."

"My head feels like it's going to explode." It was a pounding headache where she could feel her heartbeat and every noise made her want to tear her ears off.

"Aww, how long has it hurt?"

"Since this morning... one of the reasons I went out was to see if there were any kind of pain pills anywhere because I can't take it anymore!"

"Are you getting sick?" Evie questioned, pressing the back of her hand against her girlfriend's forehead.

Mal swatted it away. "I haven't been sick since I was seven." Like hell she was getting sick.

"Well, you never know." Evie replied patiently as usual. "Go lay down. I'll see what I can do."

Mal was comfortable right where she was, but it probably would be best to lay down. She begrudgingly got up from her place and went to bed, almost forgetting to take her jacket off.

Her head was throbbing, but she did feel a little better when she closed her eyes.

Not too much later, Evie came into the room.

"You look terrible,"

"Thanks." Mal said sarcastically. She didn't even open her eyes.

"You know I didn't mean it like that." Evie replied. She felt Mal's forehead again. "Well, no fever, but this should help regardless." She placed a cool, wet cloth on Mal's forehead. "There now, try and get some sleep."

"How can I? My head feels like someone's beating it with a hammer."

"Shh. Just try." Evie said softly. She went around to sit on the bed behind Mal and started playing with her hair gently.

Mal's sleepy voice broke the silence a few minutes later. "Evie?"

"Hm?"

"Don't ever stop doing that."

Evie laughed a little, happy to comply.

* * *

Evie had learned fairly early on that behind closed doors, Mal was very affectionate and very forward. It was really surprising. Mal would most definitely kill her if anyone found out just how much she loved Evie playing with her hair or how often she'd take Evie's hand and just hold onto it.

It was nice, Evie had to admit. As shocking as it was at first, she was now used to it in the best way. She had worried at first that Mal wouldn't like being touched at all. Evie herself was a hugger when she could be and it would have been kind of disappointing if Mal wasn't. But things had worked out. They were almost always touching somehow, whether it was holding hands or one holding the other or something else.

Right after they moved into their abandoned little house, they slept on opposite sides of the one bedroom they had. That set up didn't last long.

When Jay questioned one day why there was only one pile of blankets in the bedroom instead of two, the girls told him it was only because it was warmer if they slept together. That was partially true, but even Jay knew that wasn't the whole story. They just liked it better that way. The boys didn't push the matter and just let whatever was going on with their friends' relationship happen.

Early one morning on the day of a shipment from Auradon, Mal started to get out of bed.

"No," protested Evie, grabbing onto her girlfriend's wrist.

Mal ran her hand through her hair sleepily. "E, I promised Jay I'd go with him and see what we could ge-"

"I don't care. Stay."

"But-"

"It's cold." the blue-haired girl whined.

"Yes, and water is wet." It was always chilly on the Isle and particularly so in the drafty little shack they called home. She tugged, but Evie didn't budge. "I really have to go."

"Ten more minutes?" Evie pleaded. "Please?"

Mal bit her lip and Evie fought back a grin. She had her now. Mal couldn't say no to anything when she asked like that.

Mal sighed and snuggled back into the blankets, taking Evie's hand properly in the process. "Alright fine. Five minutes. But don't think I don't know when you play me."

Evie grinned smugly. "I can play you like a guitar and you know it."

"You are so lucky you're cute." Mal teased in a low voice.

"Don't lie, you love every minute of it."

"Well, you aren't wrong." Mal replied before kissing her.

Sometime later, Mal finally caught up to Jay. It was still early, but not as early as they had planned.

"About time you show up." Jay called as soon as Mal was within earshot.

"Yeah, yeah." Mal replied dryly. She punched him hard in the arm when she was close enough. They headed down towards the dock together.

"What took you so long?" Jay made a face. "Actually, wait. I don't think I want to know. Don't answer that."

"You're just jealous I have a girlfriend and you don't." Mal smirked, shoving her hands into her pockets.

Jay made a face. "Whatever,"

Mal laughed and jogged a bit ahead of him. "Come on, we don't have all day."

"You two are nauseating, by the way." Jay added, catching up.

Mal flashed a grin over her shoulder. "Good,"

* * *

 _ **A/N: Mal being a cuddler is one of my favorite headcanons. :)**_

 ** _Poor Jay is girlfriend-less. And before you ask, I don't ship Jaylos. Sorry._**

 ** _Well, I hope you liked this! Let me know your thoughts!_**


	3. Chapter 3

_**This is the longest chapter so far! We still aren't as dark as it will be towards the middle of this, but a lot of things are implied in this.**_

 ** _I hope you like this! It was giving me issues!_**

 ** _I'd say they're around 22 here._**

* * *

No one ever bothered them when they were out. People sent glares on occasion, but everyone tended to clear out of the way and let them be.

Strangely enough, they weren't very public with their relationship. It started with a kiss on the steps of their school and moved into a drafty, broken down shack- the opposite of what could be considered normal. But they weren't normal anyway.

Everyone knew that Mal was Evie's and Evie was Mal's, though. They were a lethal combination and that's why people stayed away. It was a lonely existence, but that was not anything new, especially for Evie. They had Jay and Carlos at least. The four of them were a ramshackle little family, but it was a good family. Better than what they had ever had before.

It was winter, which meant it was much colder than usual and Mal and Evie were hurrying back home after helping Carlos try and reinsulate his tree house. It proved useless every time, but it was the only place in the world that was truly his and they tried their best to make sure he could continue to use it.

It was cold enough to snow, but it wasn't going to. There was never much precipitation on the Isle of any kind though it was always cloudy. It was a major contributing factor to why nothing ever grew there.

"Ugh, I hate winter." Mal complained, shoving her hands deeper into the pockets of her jacket. Evie had made her a hat that she vehemently refused to wear and regretted it. She was waiting for an 'I told you to wear it' from beside her, but it never came.

And Evie wasn't beside her anymore.

Mal stopped dead in her tracks and look around, the brisk wind whipping her purple hair around. "E?"

"Over here," Evie called from behind her.

Mal followed the voice into an ally and found her girlfriend crouching, her back to her. Mal's first thought was that Evie had gotten sick. "What's wrong, E?" Mal asked as she put her hand on Evie's shoulder.

Evie looked up and Mal caught a glimpse of a rather pale, tiny, frightened looking baby wrapped in a single thin blanket on the ground.

"Someone just left her here..." Evie said quietly, glancing back to the child. "She's been here for a while, I bet... she's freezing."

"Well, that sucks." Mal said. "Come on, let's go home."

"Mal!" Evie cried. "We can't just leave her here."

"Sure we can."

"Mal!"

"What? That kid isn't our responsibility. Why should I care?"

It might have been because it was so cold, but there were tears in Evie's eyes. "She's going to die if we leave her out here."

"And?" There were kids abandoned on the street rather often. It was sad, but it was reality. Some pretty terrible things happened to girls on the Isle leaving them with babies they couldn't take care of, if they didn't die at birth of course. The orphanage was over-crowded. There weren't many other choices than abandonment. Most people could hardly feed themselves let alone a child.

No one was ever punished for forcing girls to become mothers, sometimes ending up in a death of the mother or her baby, or both. Crime was the name of the game on the Isle of the Lost. It was constant chaos and no justice. But that was the price of rounding up all the bad people and putting them in one place. Evil reigned supreme.

"And I'm taking her home." Evie replied, scooping the baby into her arms. The baby was so weak, it couldn't even cry, it just looked up with scared blue eye. Evie stood up, holding the baby close.

Who knew what would've became of her if Mal hadn't put a stop to those creepy boys who never took no for an answer. She could have been the girl with no choice but to leave her baby to die in an ally. She couldn't just leave it, she felt obligated to help.

"Fine," Mal sighed after seeing Evie cradle the little girl lovingly. Evie was clearly already attached. It would break her heart if Mal refused. "But don't expect me to take care of it."

"You won't have to." Evie replied softly, looking more than a little hurt, before walking out of the ally and back towards their house.

Mal followed after, but thought better of it and turned around.

Once that baby was healthy enough to go to the orphanage, that's where she was going. They couldn't raise a child.

But they had to look after it while it was in their care so at least they wouldn't have the death of an innocent little baby on their conscience.

* * *

"Poor baby," Evie murmured as she lay the infant on the pile of blankets they called a bed. The girl was shivering and almost blue from cold. She was way too thin and very, very unclean.

Evie had heard the smallest of whimpers on the wind. It had been so faint, she thought she may not have heard anything at all. She was glad she investigated.

"You're so little..." Evie cooed, moving slowly as to not startle the bleary eyed baby. She took a tiny, ice cold hand into her own. "Don't worry. You're safe now. We'll take care of you, okay?"

A tiny coo sounded again. It was so weak. Something told Evie that she had found the girl at just the right time.

"Let's get you clean and warmed up, okay?"

There wasn't much to work with, but Evie found a way around that. They had a little stove for cooking that she warmed just enough water on to wash the baby as best she could with a rag. There were fabric scraps for diapers. She wrapped the baby in the warmest blanket she could find afterwards and just snuggled her close.

"I'm sorry I don't have anything to feed you right now." Evie murmured.

"Hey," Mal said, walking into the room. She had something clutched under her arm. "How's the kid?"

"Warmer," Evie replied shortly, not looking at her. She had no idea Mal could be so cruel. Maybe Mal just didn't understand.

"Well, that's progress at least." Mal replied. Evie still didn't look at her. Damn. She bit her lip. "Here," Mal produced the bundle from under her arm. "I, uh, I found some stuff for it. With Jay."

It? "What kind of stuff?"

Mal put the bundle on the floor and opened it. "Half used baby formula cans, these bottles that look just fine to me... um, baby cups, and this thing." Mal shook a plastic toy and it rattled. The cans were only a few days passed their sell by date, basically brand new by their standards.

Well, that certainly solved the food problem.

"Why did you get that stuff?" Didn't she say she didn't care?

"Well, I figured since you can't feed it and I can't either, we needed to find something." The purple-haired girl shrugged her jacket off. It was warmer in the house, but not by too much.

"But you said you didn't care about her."

"I don't. But if she's staying here, I'd rather her be okay than on the brink of death." But the truth was she'd do anything to make Evie happy. "Now, are there directions on this can?" Mal held one of the cans up.

One scoop for every two ounces of room-temperature or warm water. Shake well.

Okay. Easy enough. Apparently there was a scoop in the can.

Mal went to put water in one of the bottles.

"Clean it first!" Evie called after her.

Mal sighed but obeyed and cleaned the bottle before putting four ounces of water into the clear bottle. It seemed like a safe bet. She returned and opened the can of formula and measured two scoopfuls into the bottle. She screwed the lid on and shook it before handing it to Evie.

Evie held the bottle to the baby's mouth. There was no reaction from the child. Was she too weak to eat? Did she not know how?

"It's okay," Evie cooed softly.

It took a little coaxing, but the little girl did take the bottle eventually.

She fell asleep before she was even half finished.

Evie tucked the girl into a basket she used for sewing materials but had emptied.

"Thank you," Evie said to Mal, a hint of bitterness in her voice. She was truly grateful, though.

"Of course," Mal replied.

Evie just sat and watched the baby sleep just to make sure she was breathing. Weak as she was, she was a beautiful baby, bright blue eyes and the whispiest little bit of deep red hair.

Mal saw just from the way Evie looked at the sleeping child that it wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

And maybe Mal would be okay with that.

Someday.

Just not that moment.

* * *

 **A/N: So Mal and Evie are now in charge of a little munchkin. What do you guys think might happen next? Do you think they'll keep her around? _Let me know what you think!_**

 ** _Thanks for reading!_**


	4. Chapter 4

_**This has been done for a while and I'm not quite sure why I didn't post it earlier. Sorry about that. I know it seems like not a lot is happening right now, but there's a reason this is all filler right now. The actual plot starts a while later, so I**_ _ **will start "fast forwarding" if you will. Well anyway, enjoy!**_

* * *

"Babies don't really... do much." Mal observed.

The baby was on a blanket in the middle of the floor on her back, the tiny rattle thing Mal had found for her in one fist. She couldn't really shake it, but she did like to look at it.

"No, not yet." Evie replied, looking up from an old dirty book she had found by the school. "She's still too little." It was hard to determine how old the baby was because of how tiny and weak she had been when they found her, but because she was growing stronger by the day, Evie guessed she was about three or four months old based on her abilities. She still couldn't be sure of course, but it was a reasonable guess.

"When does she start being interesting?"

"What exactly do you mean by interesting?"

"I don't know... talking or... something?"

"A couple more months."

"Months?" Mal didn't even really want her in the first place and she'd have to wait months for her to be entertaining. Great.

"Yup. Months. And if she's going to be around that long, she needs a name." Evie said, putting the book down. She was sick of calling her 'little one'. The poor thing needed a name. This was a perfect opportunity to bring it up.

"We aren't naming it." Mal said, getting up from the couch before Evie could force her cute upon her.

"And why not?"

Mal crossed her arms and looked out the window. It was cloudy, as usual. There was a boy, probably seven or eight, digging through a pile of trash down the street. "Because naming something makes you get attached to it. And like I keep saying, she isn't staying here."

"Mal, I'm not taking her to that dirty, crowded orphanage."

"Then put her back outside." The bite in her voice was unmistakable.

Mal heard Evie's sharp intake of breath and instantly felt bad. But she stood her ground.

Evie got up and stood behind Mal. "...we both know you don't really mean that."

She didn't. She actually liked having the kid around, if only because Evie's smile had become more commonplace. But no one, not even Evie, needed to think she was going soft. She sighed.

The baby cooed from the floor and Evie went to sit with it.

Mal turned from the window. Evie shook the rattle in front of the baby's face and she reached two clumsy hands towards it.

The baby made Evie so happy. She really did. It would be beyond cruel to take her away, or continue to threaten it. Evie was stuck with Mal in a house that could probably fall apart at any moment. She deserved happiness. And if that drooly, screaming baby made her happy, Mal supposed she would have to learn to live with it.

She considered it for a moment before joining Evie on the floor beside the baby. Evie smiled at her and gave the rattle to her.

"You try,"

"Try what?"

"Shake it,"

So Mal shook the rattle and the baby cooed and wiggled and reached for it.

Mal smiled. That was pretty cute.

Evie rested her head on Mal's shoulder. "She still needs a name..."

"You don't have any ideas?"

"No,"

"Hmmm... What about... Ivy?"

"Ivy?"

"Sure," It was short and easy. And it seemed to suit the child.

"Like... poison ivy?"

"Or actual ivy. Take your pick."

Evie thought about it for a few minutes. Naming something- or someone- wasn't to be taken lightly. "I... like it! It's cute and short."

"Like you?" Mal teased.

Evie elbowed her and picked her head up, looking a bit offended. "You're shorter than me!"

"Not by much." There was the tiniest trace of a pout on her lips. She knew she was smaller than Evie, but she didn't really like to be reminded of it.

"Mm, whatever you say, sweetie."

"Hey, I didn't only say you were short, you know."

"Yeah, I know. You also said I was cute." Evie grinned, prepared to tease her girlfriend right back. "No offense or anything, but I don't really find you all that cute anymore."

"Huh?"

It took all Evie had not to laugh. "I mean, compared to her," Evie nodded at Ivy. "You're just kind of... Eh."

Mal's expression flickered.

"You've been out-cuted, Mal. Accept it."

The half-fairy glared at her girlfriend.

Evie rolled her eyes. "I'm kidding. You're still my favorite person."

Mal grinned, pleased. "And don't you forget it."

* * *

 _ **A/N: So her name is Ivy! Short and sweet, isn't it? She's a cute little munchkin, I promise.**_

 ** _As always, thank you for reading! I would appreciate your feedback!_**

 ** _(Up on my Ao3 account, I posted a new fanfiction. It's kind of like this but not really. It's much darker, which is why I didn't post it here. It's centered around Mal. If anyone wants to read it, I'll be more than happy to give you the information.)_**

 ** _See you guys later!_**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Hello friends! I am finally back with a new chapter! Sorry for the long wait!**_

 ** _Anyway, I'm glad you all are liking it! I'm starting the process of fast forwarding to the main plot now, so his starts with Ivy as a baby and after the page break, she's four. More angst is upcoming soon!_**

 ** _Enjoy!_**

* * *

"Ev-ie," Mal said to little Ivy, who babbled in response. Ivy had begun to say a few words, no being her favorite, so she and Evie decided it was time to try to teach her their names.

"Can you say Evie?"

"Eh," cooed the baby.

"What about Mal? Can you say Mal?"

Evie, who was tinkering with some contraption of Carlos' at the table, grinned to herself. Mal was totally in love with that baby, even if she wouldn't admit it. Evie thought it was really damn cute.

"Mmmmm."

"Mal?"

"Mmmmma."

"Mal,"

"Mmmma. Mmma. Ma?"

So close.

"Mal,"

"Ma. Ma. Mama!"

Mal frowned. "Not Mama. I'm not your mama. I'm Mal."

"Mama!" Ivy repeated, clapping her little hands together excitedly.

"I'm not your mother, Ivy. If you want to call anyone that, it should be Evie, not me."

Ivy was incredibly proud of herself. "Mama!"

"Mal. Ma-l." Mal repeated. She wasn't that kid's mom. She didn't want to be. Did she?

"Mama. Mama."

"Mal!"

"Mama!"

Evie chuckled. "You're arguing with an infant, sweetie."

"I know!"

"And you're loosing."

"I know!"

Evie turned around and disolved into laughter when she saw her girlfriend's irrationally upset expression. She was cute when she was angry sometimes.

"Mama," Ivy repeated, crawling into Mal's lap and resting her head against her.

Mal was startled at first, but began to stroke the baby's dark red hair and smiled softly. Maybe she could be Ivy's mom. It could be nice.

And from that day on, she was known to Ivy as Mama.

But if Mal was Mama, what did that make Evie?

A few days later, it was decided that Evie would be Mommy. And even though Ivy's little babbles sounded nearly the same for each, they could tell the words apart.

"Does this mean we're like, really her parents now?" Mal asked Evie one day as Evie hoisted the baby to her hip and Ivy was babbling "Mommy Mommy Mommy" over and over again.

"I... suppose so." was Evie's reply. Though in a way, they always had been. Evie was glad Mal had finally accepted it. They exchanged a smile, a real smile.

And so they were. And they were very proud parents at that.

As the years went on, little Ivy grew into a very intelligent and sweet little girl. She had developed a bubbly personality similar to Evie's and a fierce protectiveness over those she loved that was similar to Mal's.

Evie was primarily in charge of teaching her how to read and she was picking up on it very quickly. Between Evie, Mal, and the boys, Ivy was learning a lot about a lot of things. Science and spelling and art and even being sneaky, to an extent.

Mal and Evie had decided not to send her to school. At least not yet. She seemed to be doing just fine with just the four of them and teaching her to be evil didn't seem like the right way to move forward. She was much too sweet and gentle. She wouldn't last a day at school with the bigger kids to push her around. They hadn't taught her how to defend herself yet. And some part of them hoped they never would, but that seemed pretty farfetched. The only downside was that she didn't have really any interaction with children her age. But that could be fixed by simply letting her go play.

* * *

"Mommy?"

"Yes, darling?" Evie asked of the sleepy pajama-clad four year old who was standing in front of her.

"Where'd Mama go?" It was a Monday. Boats didn't come in on Mondays and Ivy knew that.

"She went out to see if she could trade anything." Evie said as pleasantly as she could. She didn't want to frighten the little girl even though she herself was afraid. They were almost scarily, desperately low on food and Mal had gone out early to see if she could find any anywhere. But if they were low on food, it meant the rest of the Isle was scavenging too. Trading and stealing and bribes were common at times like these, meaning things were particularly dangerous. Mal always went out alone and forbade Evie from leaving the house, not because she couldn't handle herself necessarily, but because she never wanted anything to happen to her. And now that they had Ivy, someone would have to keep her safe too.

"Oh," Ivy replied, rubbing her eyes.

"You can go back to bed, sweetheart. It's still early."

"No," Ivy replied. She held her arms up expectantly. She wanted to be held. Evie could never say no to that, so she picked her up. Ivy smiled and rested her head on Evie's shoulder. Ivy was very physically affectionate, something Mal and Evie were totally okay with.

Her hair was a mess of beautiful deep red curls, her eyes a bright blue, she had tan skin and a permanent soft expression and the tiniest little spattering of freckles. She was a beautiful little girl.

"Prettier than any princess." as Mal often told the girl, and Evie couldn't disagree.

"What should we do today, Ivy?" Evie asked the still-sleepy little girl. "Should we read? Or draw? Or something else?" Reading and coloring were two of Ivy's favorite things in the whole world, right behind hugs and hair ribbons.

"Don't know," Ivy murmured into Evie's shoulder. Evie stroked Ivy's hair. After a few moments of thinking, the girl picked her head up. "Can you braid my hair, Mommy?" Ivy loved when Evie did anything with her hair.

"Of course I can, my love," Evie replied with a smile. "Can you get dressed and get your hairbrush for me?"

"Yes," Ivy replied.

Evie put her down and Ivy ran into the bedroom. She came out less than five minutes later wearing a light pink dress, white tights, and her light brown sweater and holding her hairbrush high like a trophy.

"Well that was fast," Evie laughed, taking the hairbrush from her daughter and walking over to sit on the couch.

Ivy, who had grabbed a pillow and set it in front of the couch on the floor to sit on, giggled.

Evie sat down and Ivy did too.

"What kind of braid, Ivy?"

The girl shrugged. It didn't matter really. Except for maybe... "Pigtails?"

"Pigtails it is," Evie replied, separating Ivy's hair into two equal sections.

She was halfway done with Ivy's second braid when the front door opened.

"Mal?" Evie called when no immediate voice greeted them. Ivy remained glued to her seat instead of running to greet Mal at the door like she usually did. Something was off.

The door shut, Mal walked into the room and Evie gasped.

Evie stood up from the couch and made her way to Mal, letting Ivy's half-completed second braid fall out. "What on earth...?"

Mal had what would definitely become a black eye, a fairly deep scratch on her hand, and she looked generally roughed up.

"Did you get in a fight?" Evie asked, eyes narrowed.

"No. I sort of got caught in the middle of one." Mal replied. She looked awful. "I only tried to defend myself." That was true. Mostly. Kind of. But Evie didn't need to know that.

Evie's fingers ghosted over the bruise forming on her girlfriend's eye. "Does it hurt?"

The purple-haired girl shook her head. "Nah, I've had worse."

That was a lie if Evie had ever heard one. She examined the cut on Mal's hand.

"It looks like it hurts."

"It doesn't." Mal replied, wrenching it out of Evie's worrying grasp. The cut was nothing.

Evie shook her head and went to the other room to get a bandage. She wrapped it around Mal's hand when she returned.

"Is it too tight?" Evie asked when she finished.

"It's fine," Mal told her. "But I really don't need it. It's nothing."

Evie didn't look convinced, but she threw her arms around her in a hug anyway. Things surely could've been worse. Mal had been in worse altercations. Mal had scars from some of them. Evie always worried about her. She couldn't help it. She just always worried.

"Everything's okay, E." Mal assured her.

Evie pulled back and smiled a little before kissing Mal's cheek. At least she was in one piece.

"Mama?" a timid little voice spoke from beside them. Mal looked down to see Ivy looking scared. The poor thing had never seen anyone looking beaten up before and was scared Mal was hurt badly. Mal almost wanted to laugh. It really was nothing compared to some other injuries she'd seen, but Ivy was little still and they bad tried their best to keep her from experiencing how cruel their world really was. She had been sheltered from a lot of violence. No wonder she was scared.

"I'm okay, kid." Mal said in her normal tone as she lifted the girl to her hip.

"You promise?" Melanie asked softly

"I promise," Mal replied. Her eye did kind of hurt, bt it was okay. She smiled. "What happened to your hair? Mommy forget to do the other side?" Mal glanced up at Evie with a teasing smile.

"No, someone showed up with a black eye and distracted me." Evie replied pointedly.

Ivy giggled.

Evie shook her head bit. "Do you want me to finish, Vi?"

"Yes please," Ivy replied.

Mal put Ivy down and Evie quickly and expertly finished the braid.

"What are the plans for today?" Mal asked her two favorite girls as she joined Evie on the couch.

"I don't know," Evie replied. "We couldn't decide. Ivy didn't even want to draw. Any ideas?"

Mal shook her head. Nope. Nothing. And she didn't want to risk taking them outside when tensions were so high.

Luckily, Ivy had an idea. She climbed into Evie's lap and cuddled against her, putting her thumb in her mouth. Evie wrapped her arm around her.

"Does this mean we're just going to sit here and talk and cuddle?" Mal asked Ivy and Evie.

Ivy nodded. That happened pretty often in their house.

"I'm in," Mal replied. Evie smiled and grabbed her hand. Mal leaned against her and sighed. She hadn't found any food and she had gotten hurt, but at least she still had her family. And that was much better than things used to be.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Cuddly little girls, cute moms, and over protective girlfriends. Sounds good to me. :)**_

 ** _Well, it's May. I graduate in June, so a lot of stuff is happening for me coming up. Updates are likely to get MORE wonky. Sorry friends._**

 ** _Thanks for reading! As always, reviews and feedback are appreciated!_**


	6. Chapter 6

_**I'm sorry this chapter took so long, but Iv'e been busy preparing for my first year of college! On the upside, I have my own laptop now!**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

* * *

It was one of the rare days when Mal, Evie, and Ivy were all out together. It didn't happen often as Mal was very protective of her girls, but it wasn't good for Ivy to stay in the house all the time.

Ivy was holding both Mal and Evie's hands, looking wide-eyed at everything around her. She didn't get out much. Everything was new and impressive and a little scary. It didn't help that people kept looking at them funny, frowning and eyeing Ivy as if she shouldn't exist. She squeezed her mothers' hands a little tighter, but didn't cry or ask to be carried. She was determined to be a big, brave girl now that she was five. She knew all her shapes and colors and she count to fifty without any help. She was reading now. She was much too big to be scared of things.

Someone said a particularly nasty string of curses. It wasn't directed at them, but Ivy's Mama sent a glare sharp enough to kill at the man. He looked a little ashamed.

"Some people..." Evie muttered, shaking her head. She smiled down at Ivy, who looked even more uncomfortable than before. "It's okay, Vi. Everything is fine."

Ivy nodded. They stopped a little ways away from what they supposed could be considered a marketplace. Mal left Ivy and Evie there and promised she'd be back in a little while. Ivy was clutching Evie's hand and looking around. On the brick wall of a crumbling gray building beside them, the girl caught sight of a pastel yellow poster tacked up. The writing on it was fancy curly letters in blue. She recognized the words "King" and "Auradon". Curious as to why such a poster existed and wasn't yet vandalized like other posters from Auradon, Ivy tugged on her Mommy's hand.

"Yes, dear?"

Ivy pointed up at the poster. "What's that, Mommy?"

Evie looked to the poster and her expression changed from disgust, to confusion, to thoughtfulness, and then curiosity as she read.

"What is it?" Ivy asked once more.

"Something from Auradon, sweetheart. Nothing of importance to us." Evie said with an unconvincing tone of voice. She sounded... worried.

"Why's it here? What's it say?"

Evie bit her bottom lip. Ivy was a naturally inquisitive child. She simply had to know about everything. It was a beautiful part of her personality, but sometimes it was difficult to work around. "They're taking all the orphans off the Isle and to Auradon to find good homes as well as anyone else who wants to go."

Ivy froze. She was an orphan. She knew that. Her mommies found her. They weren't her real mommies. That meant she was an orphan. Was that why Mommy was worried? Were they going to take her away? "...Are they going to make me go too?"

Ivy didn't want to go to prissy Auradon. The current king's daddy was the reason they were there in the first place. They were mean and scary. She didn't want to go there. And she didn;t want to leave her mothers.

Evie realized what she said and her expression softened. "No, Ivy. You're ours. They can't take you away from us. They're only going to take the kids from the orphanage. You're going to stay here with us."

"Promise?" Ivy asked timidly. "Even if they try?"

"I promise," Evie assured. "Your our daughter, you aren't an orphan anymore. You have a home. I promise that Mama and I will keep you here with us."

Ivy nodded and lifted her arms above her head. She was still nervous. "Up?" she questioned quietly.

Evie picked her up and cuddled her close. "You're going to be just fine. I promise."

Ivy rested her head on Evie's shoulder and put her thumb in her mouth. She remained unconvinced. Something was off and she knew it.

After a while, Mal came back with a few things in hand. "What happened to Ivy?" She asked Evie as she approached them. Mal was used to Ivy being bouncy. Maybe she was tired or didn't feel well. "Is she okay?"

"She's okay," Evie said. She nodded at the poster. "Auradon's just frightened her a little. I also may have misspoken."

Mal read the poster with a look of disgust. "I can't believe they think any of us would actually want to go there."

"I know. King Ben is delusional." Evie replied, shaking her head. More so than his father. What put this crazy idea in his head?

"I'm an orphan," Ivy said softly to Mal, lifting her head off Evie's shoulder. "I don't want them to take me too."

Evie looked uneasy. It was her fault this idea was in her head.

"You were an orphan," Mal corrected Ivy gently, stroking her hair. "But now you're not. They won't take you, but if they try they'll have to get through me and Mommy first, okay? You have nothing to worry about, Vi."

Ivy dropped her head back onto Evie's shoulder miserably. "I wanna go home."

"Then let's go home," Evie replied, turning around to head back the way they came.

Ivy put her thumb back into her mouth as they started back. Mal put a hand on Evie's arm, making her look to her.

"It's not your fault," Mal mouthed to her.

Evie frowned. Perhaps not, but it felt as if it were.

* * *

That evening, it took a bit longer than usual to put Ivy to sleep, but she eventually fell asleep clutching the blanket Evie had made for her when she was still a baby.

"Quit beating yourself up, E," Mal reprimanded lightly. "She doesn't really understand stuff like this. She's only five."

Evie glanced up from her sewing for a quarter of a second and replied in a dark tone, "She understands more than we realize."

Mal went back to her sketching. Ivy was an intelligent girl, but Mal doubted she understood this. They would always protect her, she knew that. But her reaction didn't show that.

What seemed like a few hours later, Mal put her sketching down with a soft thump. She had done a lot of thinking. "Evie?"

Evie looked at her, putting her own work aside. "What's wrong?"

"I want Ivy to go to Auradon."

Evie's eyebrows raised in shock. "Wha-?"

"And I want you to go with her."

* * *

 _ **A/N: And so the plot thickens!**_

 _ **I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please let me know what you think!**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Sorry for the long delay, but I started college! I've been pretty busy and have been trying to write this forever! It's done now, so I hope you enjoy!**_

* * *

Evie's eyes widened in shock. "Wha-"

Mal shook her head and spoke over her. "Don't argue, E. I already decided."

"Without... telling me?" Evie sounded incredibly hurt.

Mal felt terrible. But she did have a reason. "I knew you'd argue with me if I asked how you felt about this. That's why I'm not giving you the option. The two of you are going. And that's final."

"What about you? Why just us?" Evie's voice carried the sort of raspy whisper that came with being near tears.

"I read the poster and every person over the age of thirteen who is not in the orphanage has to be interviewed if they want to go to Auradon. They have to approve you before you're cleared to go. Do you really think they'd want the daughter of one of the most powerful and feared villains in their perfect little kingdom? Your mom was- is- scary," Evie visibly shuddered when Mal mentioned her mother, but she continued to speak. "But my mom... well, you know."

"But what does parentage have to do with anything though? You're smart! And-and!"

"What does that matter? They're going to ask who our parents are!" Mal said, a little harsher than she intended. Evie jumped, startled by Mal's tone. Mal never raised her voice to her. Mal felt terrible when she saw how startled Evie was, so she softened. "Of course they'll ask Evie, do you really think they wouldn't? They'll ask, but you'll get through. You're charming and kind and beautiful. They'll take you. They have to. How couldn't they? However, I'm none of those things"

Evie could charm her way out of a metal box chucked in the river. And she was a princess. Of course they would want her. Right?

"Mal, you're beautiful too," Surely Mal had to know that. Evie told her that, at the very least, once a day.

"Not like you are," Mal replied.

Evie could tell by looking at Mal's eyes that she believed the words that she spoke about. Evie stood up from her seat and went to sit next to Mal on the couch, a lump in her throat. Mal looked away from Evie and ran her fingers over the sides of her pencil. Evie tipped Mal's head back up to look her in the eyes with gentle fingers under her chin.

"Mal," said Evie, with her voiced laced with tears. "You are absolutely gorgeous, okay? Please don't say that you aren't. Because you're so, so pretty. And so wonderful. And I- I don't know what we're g-going to do without y-you..."

Evie dissolved into full on tears then, and all Mal could think to do was pull her into a hug. Evie's entire body was shaking with her sobs, and Mal tried to comfort her the same way she'd seen her try to comfort Ivy when she was upset by stroking her hair.

"Everything is going to be okay, E." Mal promised in a whisper, running her fingers trough one of Evie's curls as the other girl cried into her shoulder. "Everything will be just fine." Mal dearly hoped her voice hadn't skipped when she spoke. She was supposed to be the strong one. She wasn't supposed to cry. Evie's hair was soft between her fingers and she tried to keep her focus on how the rest of Evie felt against her so she wouldn't cry. Evie and Ivy were still here with her, they weren't gone yet. She could still touch them and hold them."I just want you and Ivy to be happy."

"We _are_ happy," Evie said slowly, lifting her head. "Here. With _you_."

Mal shook her head and took one of Evie's hands. "Not as happy as you could be. You and Ivy... you're way too good for this filthy trash heap. The life the two of you deserve is over in Auradon, where they'll treat you like the princess you are. And there will be sunshine and all the fabric you could ever want to use to make all kinds of dresses. You and Ivy would be so much happier over there. You deserve to be happy."

"What about you?" Evie asked. She wiped at her eyes with her free hand and sniffled. "You deserve happiness and sunshine too."

"All the sunshine I could ever need in my life is you two."

Evie's eyes welled with tears again and she squeezed her eyes shut and curled up against Mal. Mal rested her head on top of Evie's and held her close. She knew her girls would be happier in Auradon, and though she knew she would miss them terribly, it was the best thing for them both. She wasn't as important as they were. They had good in them, they were too soft and kind to be on the Isle. They needed a place that treasured kind souls, not some kind of twisted Hell.

"I love you, Mal. Don't you ever forget that." Evie croaked out.

Mal couldn't find in in herself to return the sentiment even though she knew it was true, so she simply pressed a kiss to the top of Evie's head and hugged her tight.

Ivy shivered in the doorway out of the bedroom. She was cold. And she was scared. She had heard everything. All she wanted was a cup of water. She didn't want to go away and leave her Mama. She didn't want to go to stupid Auradon.

Tears pricked her own eyes and she silently ran back to bed. She wasn't going to go. She refused.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Big chapter, huh? I've been wanting to write this one since I first thought up this idea months ago. I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading!**_

 _ **Please review if you liked it! I hope to see you soon! :)**_


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